JBC BLOG & NETWORK: Consultant - Output Market Dynamics and Production Factor at Catholic Relief Services (CRS)

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Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-governmental organization supporting relief and development work in over 99 countries around the world. CRS programs assist persons on the basis of need, regardless of creed, ethnicity or nationality. CRS works through local church and nonchurch partners to implement its programs, therefore, strengthening and building the capacity of these partner organizations is fundamental to programs in every country in which CRS operates. CRS has worked in Nigeria for more than 25 years.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Consultant - Output Market Dynamics and Production Factor Assessment Study in Target Communities of Adamawa and Borno

Job Ref Code: MDP51219

Location: Borno

Description

This Terms of Reference (TOR) provides the description and work to be done to conduct an output market dynamics and production factor assessment study in target communities in Adamawa and Borno States in Northeast Nigeria under the Feed the Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity. The work required by this TOR includes developing and testing the tools, data collection and documentation.

Background:

For many years, the communities of the Northeast of Nigeria have faced chronic, multi-dimensional and inter-related vulnerability factors, including high levels of poverty; regular periods of insufficient harvests and pasture availability; economic marginalization; regular droughts due to climatic instability, unpredictable access to water resources, ongoing conflict, gender inequality, a large youth population with limited economic prospects, inadequate systems of governance, and Global Acute Malnutrition rates of 10-15%.These existing vulnerabilities and structural factors of fragility are now deepened in the current crisis. In March 2019, over 4.5 million individuals were affected by the ongoing crisis in the northeast, including over 2.6 million internally displaced and refugees.
With donor support from USAID, Catholic Relief Services (CRS/Nigeria), as subgrantees to International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and in partnership with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Borno State Agricultural Development program and Adamawa State Agricultural Development Program is implementing the Feed the Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity. The two-year Activity issued under the US Government’s Global Food Security Act was awarded by USAID Nigeria to IITA and its partners on 19th July 2019 as part of USAID’s contributions to the economic recovery in the North East seeks to support vulnerable populations to engage in basic farming activities that will improve food security, increase agricultural incomes and improve resilience among smallholder farmers and their families in Adamawa and Borno states.
The Activity will work with a coalition of partners to facilitate improved agro-inputs and extension advisory services to serve vulnerable populations, strengthen the institutions that form the market system and the networks that serve smallholder farmers who have been disenfranchised by conflict, and facilitate the engagement of youth and women in commercial agribusiness activities.

Primary Purpose

The main objective of the Output Market Dynamics and Production Factor (including labour) assessment study is to provide practical recommendations and input to inform CRS’ market system programming and entrepreneurial activities (component 2) under the Integrated Agriculture Activity. The study aims to identify output market dynamics and production factor, identify actors involved in the value chain assessed their linkages as well, value added, employable vocational skills trades and profitable small-scale businesses to support and income-generating activities for which there is market demand, considering target population, local community dynamics and cultural preferences. In addition, identify which elements of the chain could/should be strengthened for developing strong linkages between production and output market actors and for the producers to be able to capture larger share of the gross margins. Locate which elements represent barriers or obstacles to overcome.
The assessment will define, develop and provide CRS with tailor-made and key output market sector-driven information in the targeted areas on the types of activities and partnerships needed to offer economic and livelihoods opportunities which are secure and profitable in the Northeast for people especially women and youth to engage in.
Furthermore, the study will identify or investigate the current demand and potential demand for value chain outputs, their various market destinations and related price trends to identify constraints, barriers and opportunities. Specify past price trends and price volatility and present future price outlook at the national, in the selected area; describe and evaluate the feasibility of commercialization and output market linkages needed in the Northeast.
Also, the assessment shall examine the input and output market and their structure, procurement processes, post-harvest processes, identification of final buyer for output market, type of contractual arrangements and transaction costs involved. Analyze degree of competitiveness, the existence of monopolies and market share segmentation for both input and output markets; and identification of potential lead firms for each value chain. The study will analyse beneficiaries’ livelihood and labour market participation behaviours, resilience status and preferences.
The potential contributors to postharvest market loss in markets and reasons for reduced loss in the road-side markets are likely to be multifaceted. Diverse market participation (commercial-scale farmers through to semi-subsistence farm surplus), poor road infrastructure, the lack of a cool chain, limited or poor packaging, and inadequate market storage facilities needs to balance against potential supply chain practices that seek to mitigate or lessen potentially elevated postharvest loss. These elements need to be investigated more deeply on how this plays out the North East
Assessment data collection, analysis and submission of final report is expected to be completed within a period of 20 calendar days with the consultant availability from December 5, 2019 – January 20, 2020, upon signing of the Contract.

Scope and Geographical Coverage:

The Output Market Dynamics and production factor assessment should be conducted regarding the cultural environment and the social or political processes that enable or inhibit access to work and other livelihood opportunities; diversity in the households’ population, in terms of their socio-economic status i.e. the livelihood assets, market standards and strategies that households and individual men and women use to survive.
The Output Market Dynamics assessment should include identification of institutions and existing programs that support or can potentially support demand for value chain outputs development and create economic opportunities in the hosting areas. In addition, assessment of the socio-economic context of the producer profile, specifying costs of production, the farm gate price and average production household whose main is a target crop. The assessment should also aim to characterize the market status, trends, drivers and barriers as well as stakeholder needs and influence Recommended output market opportunities should be based on specification of services and service conditions provided to producers by input providers, traders, processors, banking institutions, commercial extension providers as well as services provided to producers by government services.
Evidence of market demand should be included in the report.
The output market dynamics assessment will cover identifying and appraising the set of interactions taking place among agents and the formal and/or informal rules governing them and provide a reference as to what to expect in the target area and include all or aspects of existing on-going market system activities in these target locations.
The assessment will cover both the rural and peri-urban communities in the 12 LGAs where Feed the Future Integrated Agriculture Activity is currently being implemented. The LGAs are Biu, Hawul, Kwaya Kusar, Bayo and Shani in Borno State and, Song, Yola South, Fufore, Hong, Gombi, Demsa and Guyuk LGAs in Adamawa State.

Approach and Method

The Consultant should propose the detailed approach and methodology for the assessment, based on the general guidelines provided below. The methodology should be, gender-sensitive, and cover all LGAs (Biu, Hawul, Kwaya Kusar, Bayo and Shani in Borno State and, Song, Yola South, Fufore, Hong, Gombi, Demsa and Guyuk LGAs in Adamawa State), where the project is implemented.

Note that the following points are indicative, and the specific approaches/methodologies used will be finalized between CRS and the Consultant during Contract negotiations:

Conduct a comparative analysis of pre-and post-crisis situation of the output market.
Map existing market systems and identify key value chains (size of the markets, volume of sales, market integration/segmentation, supply and demand for products and services, etc.). Identify sectors and value chains that are not overly saturated and present potential for growth, profitability and employment. Include information on value chain entry-points that would be accessible for youths with little or no formal employment experience.
Identify and map out both on-farm and off-farm livelihoods and output market opportunities existing around Integrated Agriculture Activity intervention. Provide a clear picture of the challenges and barriers of potential service providers and measures for addressing constraints identified in the target area with attention to gender considerations;
Assess the agriculture produce value chain and identify potential value addition businesses viable in the targeted area putting into consideration the target population and local community dynamics and cultural preferences as well as the market demand.
Map market actors and institutions operating and delivering goods and services in the area; Provide information to inform business development service market based on skill gaps and demand in market. This should include feasibility of commercialization and market linkages needed value chain opportunities in the targeted LGAs.
Identify key markets which are secure and profitable for conflicted people to engage in.
The tools and specific methodological approaches will be discussed and agreed between CRS and the Consultant.

Primary assessment methods will include (but are not limited to the following):

Consultative inception meeting with Senior Agriculture and Livelihoods Advisor and other key Integrated Agriculture Activity stakeholders to ensure shared understanding of scope, methodologies, approaches and tools
Key informant interviews
Desk review: documents, reports and literature review
Data/records review and analysis
Agronomic production profile from the value chain assessed
Focus group discussions with beneficiaries and stakeholders (especially youth and women), identification of key chain actors, interview them where possible.
Specific surveys (incl. analysis of business development service market for the chains, market trends, prices, and employment)
A formal presentation of the key draft findings at the Integrated Agriculture Activity team at CRS office in Yola is required. The Consultant should keep the CRS team regularly informed of progress on key issues that may require additional direction or suggestions for other key informants or reference materials.

The final report should be analytical and user-friendly, detailing key findings and providing clear and forward-looking recommendations. The report will be drafted with a length between 30 and 50 standard A4 pages with an executive summary of no more than 3-4 pages (1800 characters/page). All reports and deliverables should be completed in English; be free of typo or grammatical errors; and be a polished document ready for publication. This means the document contains no factual errors or inaccuracies and citations are properly used. The structure of the report will be agreed between CRS team and the Consultant.

The following is an illustrative list of deliverables required under the Consultancy. The final list will be agreed upon/approved in the Consultant contract:

Desk review report summarizing key findings
Inception report, with detailed assessment work plan (maximum 5 pages), following the desk review;
Draft Output Market Dynamics and production factor (including labour) assessment report for CRS comment;
Presentation of draft findings with CRS after submission of the draft Output Market Dynamics and labour market assessment report;
Soft copies of all quantitative and qualitative data collection tools, interview guides, etc. used;
Soft copies of both raw and final, clean quantitative data set with syntax, in a readable format, with accompanying codebook/data dictionary;
Soft copy of qualitative matrices and;
Final report addressing feedback/comments from CRS on the draft report and initial presentation of findings.

Required Qualifications

CRS seeks expressions of interest from Consultant(s) with the following skills/qualifications in conducting field assessments. Key requirements of the Consultant(s) include:

Postgraduate Degree in any one of the following fields: Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, Entrepreneurship, Statistic, Social Science, Development Economics, Development Studies, or other fields related with strong background in relevant sector analysis and in economics etc;
At least 5-10 years relevant experience and proven expertise in conducting assessments and studies in the field of agriculture and rural development, and development of enterprise support institutions in relation to market system, labour markets; socio-economic and/or; micro and small enterprise development; employment promotion; private sector development; and/or income generating activities. Relevant specific experience with conducting these types of assessments/studies in Northeast Nigeria desirable;
Experience with quantitative and qualitative research and assessment report writing;
Good eye for details; adherence to logic; and capacity for inductive reasoning;
Strong presentation, facilitation, communication and team coordination skills;
Excellent networking skills with private and public sector institutions;
Good interpersonal skills, including the ability to conduct discussions with a diversity of people ranging from senior management to project participants;
Willingness and ability to travel to rural communities in Northeast Nigeria and work in a complex and security-sensitive environment. Proficiency in local language(s) in the area is desirable.

Payment Schedule

CRS will pay a consultancy fee based upon a mutually agreeable daily consultancy rate. Logistics for field trips will be arranged separately. CRS will reimburse operational and logistical costs if they are identified and approved by the Consultancy Manager in advance.
Please note that CRS will deduct and remit to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) a 5% or 10% withholding Tax from the total consultancy fees for individuals or organizations in accordance with the Nigerian Tax Law.

Application Closing Date

COB Wedenesday, 17th December, 2019.

Method of Application

Interested and qualified candidates (Consultants) should send their expression of interest (EOI) along with a detailed Resume as one document in PDF, indicating the consultancy being applied for and the Job Ref Code as the subject of the application (e.g. Consultancy for the Output Market Dynamics and Production Factor Assessment Study in Target Communities of Adamawa and Borno - MDP51219) and attach MS Word documents to: tenders.ngr@crs.org

Note

The EOI should include but not limited to the following: Expected daily rate, personal/company profile, skills, competencies and suitability for the assignment as well as readiness for immediate short-term consultancy plus a copy of such previous work
Applications will be processed on a rolling basis
Only qualified persons will be contacted and invited for screening.

Equal Employer Opportunity:

“CRS is an equal - opportunitYou’re y employer, does not discriminate based on race, color, religion and we are committed to gender sensitive programming and management’. etc.
Qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply”

Safeguarding:

By applying to this job, I understand and acknowledge that CRS requires its staff to treat all people with dignity and respect and to actively prevent harassment, abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking
Further, I understand that if I am a successful candidate, I will be subject to a comprehensive background check, and my personal/professional references will be asked to evaluate my behaviors related to the above safeguarding-related topics.

Statement of Commitment to Protection: